Bill Cosby gets back to his 7 accusers and countersues for oral defamation, alleging that the sexual assault accusations are mere plot to malign his reputation and "extract for financial gains."
Cosby's lawyer, Monique Pressley, said in a statement that, the women's "multi-decade-old, false, uncorroborated, opportunistic allegations of sexual assault have caused and continue to cause him to suffer substantial injuries and damages" to his reputation and business contracts.
Now, Bill Cosby's suit is asking for punitive damages "to the maximum extent permitted by law," as well as a permanent injunction enjoining the women from continuing to publish "defamatory statements;" and another injunction requiring the women to "publicly issue a statement and press release retracting and correcting its defamatory statements."
Monique Pressley lists the defendants as Tamara Green, Therese Serignese, Linda Traitz, Louisa Moritz, Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis and Angela Leslie.
These women have initially claimed that Cosby defamed them by allowing his representatives to brand them as liars after they went public with allegations of rape and other sexual misconduct against Bill Cosby. They are among the approximately 50 who made allegations of rape and unwanted sexual contact against Bill Cosby in US District Court in Springfield.
Joseph Cammarata, the lawyer representing the women, said Cosby's countersuit "stinks of retaliation." He further said that, "to suggest that these ladies - each and every one of them - got together and orchestrated a campaign against Mr. Cosby is hard to fathom."
The countersuit of Cosby is an attempt to defend his work as entertainer as philanthropist and he "prides himself in the legacy and reputation he has earned throughout his life."
Cosby further alleges that the defamation lawsuit against him was set timely when he is about to do a comeback on TV in a new NBC series. As a result of back to back bad publicity against the comedian, "NBC dropped the plans for the show," said Cosby's lawyer.
As a response to Bill Bosby's claims, Attorney Joseph Cammarata, released a short statement saying, "If anyone is surprised by Cosby's actions today, they shouldn't be," Cammarata wrote. "He's taken a page out of the defense attorney's playbook in an effort to shift the focus of this legitimate inquiry. It is curious that he has filed a claim only against these seven women, when there are scores of other women who have made similar allegations of sexual abuse and assault against Mr. Cosby. My clients remain resolute in their desire to have their day in court, sooner rather than later, and they each expect that their good name and reputation will be restored."
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